RELATION OF SMOKING AND ALCOHOL AND COFFEE CONSUMPTION TO ACTIVE HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION - CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: To assess the relation of smoking and alcohol and coffee co nsumption to active Helicobacter pylori infection. Design: Cross secti onal study of patients attending a general practitioner Active H pylor i infection was measured by the C-13-urea breath test and detailed qua ntitative information on smoking and on alcohol and coffee consumption was obtained by a standardised self administered questionnaire. Setti ng: One general practice in Germany. Subjects: 447 patients aged 15-79 who had not had peptic ulcer disease or treatment for H pylori infect ion. Main outcome measures: Prevalence of H pylori infection according to smoking and alcohol and coffee consumption. Results: Overall preva lence of infection was 21% (94/447). There was no significant relation between smoking and active H pylori infection. Alcohol consumption sh owed a negative dose-response relation and coffee consumption a positi ve dose-response relation with active infection. After adjustment for potential confounders, the odds ratios for patients who drank less tha n or equal to 75 g and >75 g of ethanol a week compared with non-drink ers were 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.55 to 1.59) and 0.33 (0.16 to 0.68), respectively (P value for trend 0.005, assuming that 1 litre o f beer and 0.5 l of nine contain on average 50 g of ethanol in south G ermany). Adjusted odds ratios for patients who drank <3 cups and great er than or equal to 3 cups of coffee per day compared with those who d id not drink coffee were 1.49 (0.71 to 3.12) and 2.49 (1.23 to 5.03), respectively (P value for trend 0.007). Conclusion: These results sugg est a protective effect of alcohol consumption against active infectio n with H pyolri and an opposite effect of coffee consumption.